MoonLight and Shadows
by SunLight1
Summary: [Epilogue Up! Please R/R] Alright, so WE all know Rory and Jess are soulmates ;) now it's time for THEM to figure it out **!Completed!**
1. Night Time Discoveries

Disclaimer: All of these super awesome characters, their quirky characteristics, and their charming little town, belong to the ever wonderful WB network, not me : )

~This is my first attempt so I would love feedback, good or bad~

Chapter One: Nightime Discoveries 

It was late, probably around 2:00 in the morning.  Jess Mariano was lying awake in his bed, he couldn't sleep.  He couldn't help but notice the way the light of the moon made the shadows flicker across the wall.  The way the wind blew outside, and the distinct smell of snow that danced in the air.  He knew if he looked out the window he would see thousands of dazzling stars twinking in the clear sky.  He had to shake his head at his own thoughts.  A year ago he never would have noticed such fanciful details.  A year ago he would have been too _busy_ worrying about where he was gonna get the money to pay back some kid for a bag of weed, or whether or not his Mother was just passed out in the living room or in real danger, to notice things like moonlight and shadows.  A lot had happened in the last year though . . . a year ago he hadn't known _her_.  Jess found his first smile.

Rory Gilmore.

She was so innocent and pure, so sweet, so smart.  So beautiful inside and out.  She was the exact opposite of Jess in every way.  She represented all the things he thought he could never have.  Maybe that was why he was so drawn to her in the first place.   Jess had known she was special the first time he had seen her, but what he hadn't counted on was her dancing her way right into his heart, his mind, his very soul.  He had tried everything to forget her, move own.  He told himself that she wasn't his type. He told himself that she was half-neurotic and completely impossible.  He told himself he wasn't good enough for her, that she deserved better.  Most importantly, he told himself that she was taken, that she was already in love, that she could and would never be his.  But now she was.

Jess smiled for the second time that night.  Rory had the effect on him, she could make him smile when she wasn't even around.  Jess still had trouble believing that Rory and her long-time boyfriend, bag-boy Dean, had finally broken up.  He had an even harder time believing that the reason they broke up was that Rory wanted to be with him instead.  It didn't matter though.  She was his now and that was all that mattered.  He could hold her, kiss her, smile at her, spend as much time with her as he wanted to now.  He liked that, he liked that a lot.  He liked everything about Rory.  Her soft hair, that always smelled like dewy flowers on a spring morning, her crystalline blue eyes that reflected the very pureness of her soul, her laugh that always sounded like the clear ringing of bells.  Rory made his world make sense, something that Jess hadn't realized was possible until he had met her.  He loved her.  That realization shocked him.  It scared the hell out of him too.  Jess shook his head, and with a whole mass of confused thoughts rambling about inside his head, he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

* * * * * 

Rory Gilmore padded out into her mother's room still wearing her fuzzy slippers that were two sizes to small for her feet. She was dressed and almost ready to go but her slippers were so warm she had decided to keep them on for just a tad longer. She brushed a stray strand of her silky brown hair out of her eyes and groaned in frustration.  She really was getting tired of her mother borrowing her things without asking.  She was 250% positive that the last time she had worn her blue coat she had hung it up, where it rightfully belonged, in her closet.  Yet here it was, draped over her mother's desk chair.  She grabbed the jacket and headed back downstairs in no particular hurry.  It was a bright Sunday morning and she just felt like taking her time and enjoying it.  Rory's thoughts drifted to the first annual Stars Hollow Chinese auction that evening.  Rory had never been to a Chinese auction, but apparently everyone bought and gift, stuck it in a paper bag, and then the bag got auctioned off.  Rory thought it was pointless to spend money on something and not know what you were getting, but she was excited about the auction nonetheless.  Last night she and her mother had discussed what they were going to put in their bag.  Lorelai, her mother, had decided it didn't matter what was in the bag, as long as the bag itself was decorated perfectly.

"We can dress it up like Elvis!" she had squealed excitedly.

"We still have to put something inside it," Rory had pointed out.

"We'll just stick some coffee packets in there, it's the perfect gift!" Her mother had reasoned.

Rory had rolled her eyes at that comment, "Mom we need something special, unique, something that truly represents the Gilmore spirit!" she had said dramatically.

"What represents that Gilmore spirit better that coffee?!"

Rory laughed remembering the conversation.  She had won, but now she wished she hadn't bothered.  She and her mother had decided to spend the day searching for just the right gift, but at the last minute she had had to back out.  Michel, an employee at the Inn that her mother worked at, had called and informed Lorelai that there was some sort of emergency regarding the computer files and she really needed to come in.  Rory was left to figure out what to put in the stupid bag on her own.  Suddenly she had a thought, and quickly slipping on her coat, she rushed out the door.   


	2. Paper Bags and Unicorns

Chapter 2

            Rory fought to get her rapid heart beat under control but didn't even try to fight the happy blush that she knew was creeping up into her cheeks.  She still didn't understand what it was about her boyfriend, Jess, that caused that exciting reaction.  She certainly had never experienced it with her first boyfriend, Dean.  There was just something about Jess that made her go crazy.  She was crazy about him.  She closed the door to the diner and tried to sneak quietly up behind him and surprise him while he was bust taking the order of some tourists.  Right at the last minute though he whipped around, slipped his arms around her waist, and lowered his mouth to her own before she even had a chance to think.  He kissed her sweetly and softly, and when he broke the kiss there was laughter in his eyes.

            "You were trying to sneak up on me weren't you?"

            "Didn't work, huh?" she said, still slightly breathless.

            "I heard you" he explained

            "How?! I was quiet!"  Rory said, feigning exasperation.

            "I could hear you breathing" He explained quietly.

            There was something about the tender look in his eyes when he said this that made Rory's heart skip a beat.  She blinked, fighting the urge to grab him by the neck and kiss him senseless.  She knew he wouldn't mind making out in front of a room full of strangers, but she did.  She smiled, "Do you know what today is?"  

            Jess shook his head, "No, Rory, what is today?"

            "Our one month anniversary," Rory explained, only slightly hurt that he hadn't remembered.  Now forgetting a biggie like the sixth month anniversary, or the one year anniversary, now that would be bad.  She hadn't really expected him to remember anyway.  No, she didn't care.

            Without missing a beat Jess replied, "Ah of course, our one month anniversary, which is exactly why I got you this" He smiled goofily and handed her a mug of steamy coffee that he had been carrying to another table when she had walked in.  Rory noticed Kirk glaring at her from across the room.

            "Are you sure this wasn't supposed to go to Kirk?" she asked.

            "Yes, I'm positive that I've been dating you for the past month and not Kirk" he replied seriously.

            "That's alright Rory, I'm used to being shunned by the public and placed last behind all other members of mankind" Kirk called form across the room.

            "I think you better take that coffee to Kirk" Rory said, laughter dancing in her blue eyes.

            "Your prettier" Jess responded.  Rory flushed with happiness over his completely irrelevant comment.   A few minutes later Rory was seated at the bar with her own mug of steamy coffee, while Jess ran upstairs to get permission from Luke to take the day off.  After several minutes of arguing, giving Rory just the right amount of time to finish her coffee, Luke relented and Jess and Rory headed out the door.  Rory filled Jess in on her dilemma in finding the perfect brown bag stuffer and asked if he had any good ideas.

            "Well most of the people in this lunatic town are wild about porcelain unicorns and cotton candy and ice cream, and since I've never really been a Strawberry Shortcake kinda guy, I'm really lost as to what would be considered good idea around here." 

            Rory rolled her eyes and punched him playfully in the arm.  "Well? What are you and Luke putting in yours?" she asked.

            "I don't think we're bringing one."

            "Jess! That's against the rules."

            "Says who?"

            "Says me, I win" she put a finger over his lips when he started to protest, "We'll pick something out together"   Jess, knowing it would be pointless to argue, leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Rory's lips.  He laughed when he saw the disappointed expression on her face when he pulled back, and leaned down and proceeded to kiss her more thoroughly.  He gently coaxed her lips open and softly caressed her tongue with his own.  He pulled back before the kiss got out of hand and whispered, "Better?"

            "Much better," she sighed.  Rory suddenly gave Jess a seductive wink and turned to practically skip into the nearest gift shop.  Jess just smiled, shook his head,  and followed behind the crazy girl he loved.


	3. Of Your Eyes

Chapter 3

            "20 dollars!"

            "25!"

            "30!" Lorelai shouted.  There was no way she was gonna let Kirk beat her on this one.

            "Mother dearest, you do realize you don't traditionally try and buy back your own item"  Rory whispered to her mother, referring to the fact that the crazy women was trying to buy the bag she and her mother had brought in.  

            "I know dear, but don't you love the confused looks on everyone's faces?"

            "I think they're just confused on why anyone would try to win a bag that hideous in the first place."  Rory muttered.

            "Awwe don't say that, you'll hurt Elvis's feelings!" Lorelai chided.

            "Sold to Kirk for 40 dollars!" Taylor announced.

            "Oh you awful child look what you made me do!"  Lorelai exclaimed in mock anger to Rory.  Rory just grinned, wondering what Kirk would do with a bag full of Metalica CDs and old books (which is what she and Jess had eventually decided to stuff the bags with.)  

            "Oh well, better luck next time" Rory whispered, standing up to go outside and get some fresh air.

            Rory made her way out of the town meeting building and eventually found herself in the middle of the town at the gazebo.  She climbed the steps and took a seat at one of the benches inside.  She closed her eyes for just a second and let the frosty air blow across her face, kissing her eyelids and tickling her nose.

            Jess stopped when he reached the gazebo.  His girlfriend looked so beautiful and serene he hated to disturb her.  The sight of her made his heart race.  Taking a deep breath he climbed up the steps and whispered, "Rory?"

            Rory opened her eyes to the familiar voice.  She wasn't surprised, she had expected Jess to find her.  "Hey", she whispered.  Jess made his way over to the bench and sat down beside her.  Noticing that she was shivering, he pulled her into his arms and began gently rubbing her hands with his own.  Rory went limp in his embrace.  She felt so safe in his arms, cherished, almost loved.   She shook her head at her fanciful thoughts and smiled up at Jess.  He chose that moment to lean down and kiss her softly.  He had meant only to give her a quick kiss, but when he felt her soft lips, and heard her content sigh, he decided to deepen the kiss.  Her mouth was so warm and inviting, and he loved the way she shyly rubbed her tongue  against his own.  His mouth gently slanted over hers, again and again, and only when he heard her moan in his arms, did he pull back.  "Hey," he whispered.  He was arrogantly pleased with the bemused look on her pretty face and the passionate glow in her blue eyes.  He reached into his jacket pocket.  "Here," he whispered, "This is for you".  Rory sat up straighter and opened the small velvet box to find a pair of small, dangling earrings with clear blue gems in the shape of hearts hanging on them.   "They reminded me of your eyes," he explained, feeling a little stupid and a lot embarrassed.  

            "They're beautiful," Rory whispered stunned, "but what are they for?"

            Jess grinned sheepishly, "Our anniversary"

            "But when did you get them?  I was with you all day...?"  She asked, confused.

            "Who said I got them today?"  Jess asked.

            "But this morning ... I thought ...  I mean, you didn't?"

            "Of course I didn't forget.  You only get one one month anniversary" Jess smiled cockily.  Rory felt her eyes fill up with tears of happiness. "Shh, don't cry, Rory," Jess whispered, his voice husky.  Then he leaned down and kissed her, and she forgot all about crying.  Her last coherent thought was of just how perfect everything was.**  She really should have known it was too good to last.**


	4. New Best Friends?

Chapter 4

            Rory awoke the next morning still in a happy mood from the night before.  She sat up in bed, letting the brilliant sunlight kiss her features, and reached up with her fingers to trace her lips.  She could almost still feel the rough, yet gently texture of Jess's lips upon hers, almost still see the smoldering look of passion in his eyes, almost still feel his loving embrace . . .  Rory sighed at her own thoughts.  She was acting like a girl in love . . . but she wasn't in love . . . was she?  No, No it was way too soon.  It had taken her forever to decide she was in love with Dean, and she and Jess had only been dating for a month.  Besides, she was almost sure that Jess didn't love her (at least not yet anyway) and there was no sense turning into a lovesick fool.  Still, she was definitely a girl in _like_, and she just couldn't wait to see that sexy young man who could always turn her thoughts into mush.  

            She quickly climbed out of bed and dug through a pile of clothes looking for her uniform.  It was only a few days until Christmas break, and Rory only had one more midterm left to take.  It was her English lit exam, and as that was her best subject, she wasn't too worried.  She found she was incredibly anxious for school to let out, and she knew the reason was that she wanted to spend more time with Jess, who was already out on Christmas break.  

            Rory entered her living room to find her mother rushing around, apparently looking for something.  "Looking for something, Mom?" she asked.

            "Yeah, have you seen my blue coat?  It was on my desk chair yesterday."  She said with feigned innocence.

            "Oh, I think I know which coat your talking about, the one that looks exactly like mine!"  Rory said, playing along.

            "Yeah, that's the one!"

            "Well I'm not sure where yours is, but mine is hanging up nice and neat in my closet, and since you asked permission and all, I'm sure it would be no big deal if you borrowed it."

            "Thanks sweets," Lorelai said, rushing towards Rory's room.

            "Umm, Mom?  How long before you think you'll be ready to go?"  Rory called.

            "Er, 15 mintutes?"

            "So in about 25, then?  Listen Mom, I'm uh really hungry this morning, think I could just meet you there?"

            "Sounds good hun, I expect a hot mug of coffee to be waiting on me!"

            After yelling good-bye to her mother, Rory quickly made her way out of the house and towards the diner.  She resisted the urge to pat her hair, and fix her jacket before going inside, because there was no need for her to primp, after all.  Jess liked her just the way she was.  And, Lord, how she liked this exciting feeling she got in her stomach at the thought of seeing him.  Taking a deep breath she swung open the diner door and headed inside.

            Jess stopped what he was doing when he heard the swish of the door opening, instinctively knowing it was her.  He wasn't disappointed, either.  She looked really pretty that morning too.  Her hair was all wind blown, and her cheeks were all rosy from the cold.  Her blue eyes were open wide and were swimming with emotion when they locked onto his, excitement, nervousness, laughter, exhilaration . . . love?  Probably just wishful thinking on his part.  He smiled at her, hoping that was good enough to show how happy he was to see her.  He never really was one of those ideal romantic kinda guys, after all.

            Rory thought Jess looked unusually good that morning.  He was wearing a black thermal under a snug gray t-shirt, and jeans that hung low on his waist, and fit him just a little too well.  She returned his smile and made her way over to the bar.  She slipped behind the counter and quickly kissed him good morning.  "Hey," she whispered.

            "Hey yourself," He whispered back, leaning down to kiss her longer and more suitably.  He eventually broke the kiss, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and turned to pour some coffee into some costumer's cup who looked like they were fixing to get pissy.  He didn't waste any time turning back to Rory, who in the mean time had helped herself to a bowl of coffee.

            "You seem like your in a good mood this morning," He said, amusement laced in his husky voice.

            "Mmm . . just one of those girl things, you wouldn't understand."

            " I've been known to get in touch with my feminine side on occasion." 

            "Really?  The next time I see a really gorgeous guy then, I'll make sure to call you up and dish out all the juicy details."  Jess frowned at this comment, and Rory laughed and quickly reached over and squeezed his hand affectionately.  Jess squeezed back in return.

            "So last day of finals?"

            "Yeah, I have English Lit today . . . I hope I do okay."

            "You have reasonable doubt that you won't" Jess asked with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

            "You never know, I could fail."

            Jess laughed at this remark, "This from the girl who hasn't gotten lower than an A in her entire academic career?"

            Rory smiled at Jess and was about to retort with a smart-ass reply when the tinkering of bells caught her attention.  Expecting to see her mother walk through the door into the diner, Rory was given quite a shock when she saw her ex-boyfriend, Dean, and some girl come sauntering inside.  The girl had medium length brown hair, given to soft curl, with blonde highlights that glistened when the sun hit them.  She had almond eyes the color of dark chocolate (or mud, Rory thought, depending on how you looked at it), and long, thick lashes.  She had a straight nose, high cheekbones, and a honey clear complexion.  Her face was devoid of all makeup, save for a thin layer of gloss on her full lips.  She was wearing indecently tight low-rise jeans and a snug red turtleneck that accented her slender and curvy figure.  She was beautiful.  

            Rory felt heat rise in her cheeks as a spurt of jealousy hit her out nowhere.  This confused her, because she really didn't care who Dean saw or dated or whatever . . . did she?  No, of course not, but still.  Then she started to get angry.  Just what the hell was Dean doing bringing his new bouncy boobed girlfriend in the diner to rub in Rory's face.  Did Rory drag Jess into Doose's mart and make out with him right under Dean's nose?  No, she most certainly did not.  She had some class, after all.  God, that girl was pretty.  The kind of natural, stunning pretty that every girl wished she had.  The kind of pretty Rory knew she could never compare to.  

            "Rory?" Jess said, breaking into her rambling thoughts.

            "Huh? Yeah?"

            "Are you okay? You look like you just ate something your mother cooked," Jess said.  He wasn't laughing though.  He knew exactly why his girlfriend looked like she was about to either scream or faint, or both.   Damn Dean, anyway.  He had noticed Dean hanging around that girl at school lately.  Her name was Bambi, or Candi or something silly like that.  He hadn't really known if they were dating or not, he hadn't exactly cared enough to find out.  Things had been going so great between him and Rory lately, he figured she wouldn't care that Dean was seeing somebody new.  Apparently he had been wrong.

            "What, no.  I'm fine."  Rory answered Jess, sounding a bit dazed.  To Rory's astonishment Dean and his new prize walked right up to the counter, directly in front of her and Jess.

            "Um, Hey Rory . . . Jess," Dean added after a bit, "Listen Rory I wanted to introduce you to my friend Mandi.  Mandi, this is Rory."

            "Rory, it's so nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you." Mandi replied much too sweetly.  She sounded incredibly young to Rory, who was still reeling over the fact that Dean had the gall to introduce his new girlfriend to her.

            Even Jess had to admit this was a little much.  He could tell this was hard on Rory, judging by the strained sound of her voice.  "Can we help you with something, Dean?"  Jess resisted the urge to refer to him as Bag Boy.

            "No thanks, Jess.  I came to talk to Rory," he emphasized Rory's name.  Jess bit his lip and turned to get some bread out of the toaster, afraid he was going to say something he would later regret.

            "Well actually, Dean, I really do need to get to school."

            "Yeah, I figured, that's sort of why I stopped by.  Mandi's going to be a sophomore at Chilton next year.  I thought maybe you might could get to know her, help her out a bit."

            _Okay back it up a minute, _Rory thought_, unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!  First, he's dating a freshman?!  Second he now wants me to become best friends with his stupid air heady new girlfriend?  How'd a flake like her make it into Chilton, anyway?_  Okay maybe she was being a little harsh with the first impressions, but she didn't really care.  She felt like she was going to throw up.  Her first instinct was to say no, she was too busy.  But there was Mandi, looking up at her with those pretty Bambi eyes, like Rory was suddenly her new role model.  And after all, Rory did know how scary Chilton could be at first. . . 

            Rory sighed, "Sure why not," silently cursing herself for being so nice.

            "Oh that's great!" Mandi excaimed, "Thank you so, so much!  I'll call you tonight and maybe we can figure out a time to get together or something!"  After giving Rory what had to be the biggest fakest smile in the history of the world, she grabbed Dean by the arm and pulled him out of the diner.

            Rory turned to Jess with a sour look on her face.  Jess had a frown of his own on his face.  He was more than just a little concerned with his girlfriends jealous reaction to Mandi.  Plus he didn't exactly like the idea of Rory spending a lot of time with this girl for several reasons.  One, he knew it would be hard on Rory, and he didn't want that.  Second, what if this was just one of Dean's schemes to get back into Rory's life?

            Rory, suddenly feeling ridiculously insecure, blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "Did you think she was pretty?"  She said it like an accusation.

            _Great, _Jess thought_, No matter what I say, I'm screw this one up.  If I say yes she'll definitely be mad, and if I say no she'll accuse me of lying._  He decided to go with the truth, "I guess, not really my type of pretty though."  There, now that was a good answer.

            Rory didn't agree, "She looked like a super model Jess, she's every boy's kind of pretty!"  With that Rory grabbed her bag and stormed out the door, slamming the door behind her, and leaving Jess with a sinking feeling in his heart.

Well what do you guys think?  Good or Bad, I'd love to know, sorry to leave you here, but it's late and I need to go to Bed!


	5. At Least She Brought Candy

Chapter 5

            Rory's heart was thumping a rapid beat when she climbed off the bus that afternoon.  She felt her heart sink a little when she saw that the bench was empty.  Jess wasn't waiting on her, like he usually was.  Not that she had really been expecting him to, after the way she had treated him that morning._  Ugh, what was wrong with me! _ she thought disgustedly.  Rory had obsessed about the entire situation all day, to the point of almost making herself sick.  She couldn't understand why she had behaved so coldly to someone she cared so much about.  Jess hadn't done a thing wrong, either.  It wasn't his fault stupid Dean had waltzed into the diner with even stupider Mandi.  Rory couldn't imagine what Jess must have thought.  She had after all, behaved like a jealous wench, and stormed out of there like she was the world's biggest witch.  Once Rory had gotten to school and calmed down a little, she realized how silly she had reacted.  She really was over Dean, really didn't care who he dated, really just wanted to be with Jess.  Then she had started to get worried.  Was Jess mad at her?   Did he think she was still stuck on Dean?  Had she hurt him?  Hell, Rory had been so preoccupied during her exam, she probably _had_ failed it. 

            Rory wasted no time heading straight for Luke's, her worry and frustration mounting as she went.  By the time she reached the diner she was practically running.  She flung the door open so forcefully she almost ripped it off it's hinges.  Her head whipped around the small room and behind the counter and she realized with evaporating hopes that Jess wasn't there.  

            "Are you okay, Rory?" Luke asked from behind the counter, noticing the distressed look on Rory's face. 

            "What? Oh Yeah," Rory panted, walking up to the bar.

            "Are you sure your-"

            "Where's Jess" Rory interrupted.

            "Huh?"

            "Jess, your nephew, my boyfriend, medium-height, handsome, and sarcastic, where is he?"  Rory snapped, inwardly cringing for sounding so harsh.  What was going on with her lately, anyway?

            "I know who Jess is," Luke said sounding surprised, "but I don't know where he is."  Luke was concerned.  Rory looked upset and was acting totally out of character.  He was about to ask her if she wanted a cup of coffee when she abruptly turned and ran out of the diner.

***

            Jess sat on the bridge, his face emotionless, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything.  He wasn't overly upset, he really just wanted to think.  He didn't want to play the part of the overly-obsessive compulsive-possessive/jealous boyfriend.  Rory had already had one of those, he thought to himself dryly.  Still, he couldn't help but be a little worried.  Rory had flipped this morning, totally stormed out on him.  So, so not like her.  Dammit, this was why he had decided a long time ago not to fall in love.  Being in love only brought misery in the long run.  Being in love made him vulnerable, something he had spent years protecting himself against.  Hell, it was bad enough watching Rory with Dean back before they broke up, but now . . .  now that he admitted to himself how much he really loved her . . . if her lost her . . . well he didn't want to think about it.  Jess didn't like where his thoughts were leading, and he was about to get up when he heard a loud clambering noise at the foot of the bridge.  Jess looked up to see Rory muttering to herself and kicking a stick out of her way.  When she glanced up Jess saw that she had a wild look in her eyes and was completely out of breath.

            Rory breathed a sigh of relief and wordlessly made her way over to where Jess was sitting and took her place next to him.  They sat quietly for a few seconds before Rory broke the silence and whispered, "Hey"

            "Hey" Jess returned quietly.  Several more minutes lapsed in silence.

            "About this morning . . ." Rory trailed off.

            "Yeah?"

            Rory took a breath, "I've been really worried about it all day and I really hope you're not mad at me, even though you have every right to be mad at me because I acted like a total and complete idiot, but in my defense that was just because I was really upset, which is still no excuse for being a jerk to you, but I just wanted you to know that I wasn't mad at you this morning, I was mad at Dean and just took it out on you . .  wait well that's what I did but that was wrong too, and I just really don't want you to be mad at me because I care about you so much and I was wrong and I just wanted to say I'm sorry . . . " Rory looked up at Jess expectantly.  

            "And the 2002 award for longest run-on sentence goes to Ms. Rory Gilmore," Jess said with a small, dry laugh.

            "Jess!"

            "Hey, I'm sorry, look don't worry about this morning, you had every right to be upset."

            "That doesn't make up for the way I treated you, though."

            "Hey, well what are boyfriends good for if you can't use them to throw all your excess anger at, anyway?"

            "Are we okay, then?"

            "Yeah"_ I hope, anyway_, he added silently in his mind.  Jess decided against asking Rory what was really on her mind, was she really over Dean?, losing his nerve at the last minute.  He was afraid of her answer.  He silently cursed himself for being such a coward.  Instead he asked, "So, you up from a hamburger and fries?"

            "Always!" Rory said with a smile, leaning over to kiss Jess quickly.  Jess returned the kiss, but Rory couldn't help but notice that the kiss lacked the normal tenderness and passion.  Maybe it was just her imagination, but Rory still had a frown on her face when she stood up and followed Jess off the bridge.

***

When Rory got home that night around 7:00, she was unusually tired.  She decided that it was just from eventfulness of the day.  She was still a little worried about Jess, but she decided that she had all of Christmas break to show him just how much she really liked him . . .how much she was beginning to _love_ him, starting tomorrow.  

            Looking forward to going to bed ridiculously early for once in her life, Rory was about to change into her PJ's when the phone rang.  Figuring it was her mother, Rory grabbed the phone and said, "Hello?"

            "Is this Rory?" An oh-too-perky voice on the other side asked.

            "Yes," Rory said as a ball of tension began forming in her stomach.

            "It's Mandi Wilson . . . remember, we met this morning?  I hope you don't mind that Dean have me your number" She giggled.

            "Oh yeah, hey Mandi," Rory replied, trying to force some enthusiasm into her otherwise flat voice.

            "Listen, Rory?  Umm, I was in the area, and I have this whole bag of junk food . . . and I was wondering . . . if your not busy or anything maybe I could come over?"

            "Oh, I don't know Mandi, I'm really kind of tired . . ."

            "Oh I won't stay too long I promise!  I just want to come by for a little, get to know you better."

            Rory sighed, so much for going to bed early.  Oh well, at least the girl was bringing junk food.

***

             Little less than 10 minutes later, Rory found herself seated on the couch with Mandi Wilson.  When Mandi had said she was in the area, she really must have meant she was parked in Rory's driveway, because Rory had barely had time to hang up the phone before the girl was knocking on her door.

            "Let's see here . . . I have mini reeces, snickers, milkyways, three muskateers, some sour straws, and two different kinds of potato chips" Mandi said with a wide smile at Rory.  

            _She sooo planned this_, Rory thought with annoyance.  _Oh well, she did say she was going to call tonight, I guess I was fairly warned_.  Mandi was wearing old navy blue sweat pants and a fleece pull over with the word "Princess" spread across the front.  Her bouncy hair was pulled back in a high pony tail and she looked like she had just gotten out of cheer practice.  Rory decided to cut to the chase and get this over with, "So your going to Chilton next year?"

            "Yes, well actually I was thinking about starting next semester.  I mean I was going to wait, but now that I know someone, I figure the sooner the better!"

            Good Lord, the girl was acting like they were know joint at the hip and friends for life.  "Yeah, well you should be prepared, Chilton is really tough."  _My don't we sound encouraging,_ Rory chided herself. 

            Mandi frowned but said, "Yeah, but I think I can handle it . . . I want to go to Harvard some day, you know."

            _Yikes! 10 points for Yale_, Rory thought.  It had been Rory's lifelong dream to attend Harvard, but lately she had been considering other options, such as Yale, instead.  Mainly because if she attended Yale she could live at home.  She wouldn't have to leave her mother . . . or Jess, and that was beginning to become incredibly important to her.  Still she had made a list of pro's and con's for each school, and she now had a new con to add to the Harvard list.

            "Really, that's nice," Rory replied for lack of anything better to say.  

            After that the two actually had a semi-enjoyable conversation, and by the time Mandi stood to leave, Rory had almost forgot who she was, and the circumstances that had brought her there.

            "I had a nice time tonight Rory, thanks for letting me stop by," Mandi smiled.

            "Yeah me too" Rory said, not having to force the return smile too much.

            "Listen Rory, maybe this Saturday you might want to go out to dinner with me and Dean.  His Mom has really been bugging him to take me to this Italian restaurant in Hartford where his parents went on their first date.  Sentimental value, I guess."  Mandi looked at Rory hopefully.

            _What kind of proposal is that? Talk about being a third wheel, _majorly_ uncomfortable . . . and since when did Dean's mom care what restaurants Dean brought his dates to?  What made Mandi so special that Dean's mom wanted _her_ to go to that apparently special restaurant?  She had never asked him to bring her there._ Rory thought, momentarily flustered.

            "That might be kinda weird, Mandi," Rory managed to get out.

            "Hmm, I guess you might be right since you and Dean used to date and all . . . well I know!  Why don't you bring your boyfriend, Jess!"

            This girl knew way too much about her.  Rory was about to say no and make up an excuse as to why she couldn't make, it when a sudden thought hit her.  What better way to show Jess that she wasn't jealous at all of Dean than to go to dinner with him and his new girlfriend?  After all, she really didn't have anything going on this Saturday, and Mandi was trying so hard to be nice . . . "Well okay" Rory finally said.

            "Great! I'll call you later about times and stuff!  Kisses!"  Mandi giggled and with that she existed, leaving Rory to hope she had made the right decision.


	6. Italian Music, Who knew?

Chapter 6

            Rory studied her reflection in the mirror with a thoughtful look on her face.  Rory hoped she wasn't being conceited, but she had to admit that she looked pretty good.  She had borrowed one of her mother's dresses. It was a bright, snow white, form fitting dress with spaghetti straps that ended just above her knees.  The dress had a sparkling sheer layer that added a nice elegant touch.  Rory had piled her hair into a mass of curls on top of her head, leaving just a few strands out to frame her face.  She was wearing the earrings Jess had given her, and between those bright blue jewels, and the pure color of the dress, Rory's eyes looked like they were on fire.

            "Hey babe, where are you?"  Rory heard her mother call.

            "I'm right here, mom," Rory said stepping out of her room, into the living room.

            "Oh Rory, you look beautiful, just like a princess!"

            "Are we talking fairy tale princess or real princess?," Rory asked, lightly joking while she tried to get her nerves under control.

            "Oh fairy tale definitely, I'm thinking Sleeping Beauty."  Rory wrinkled her nose.  "Okay what about Cinderella?"

            "Better," Rory said with a small smile.

            "How are you feeling?" Lorelai asked, referring to the fact that Rory had been complaining about coming down with something for the past couple of days.

            "I feel fine," Rory said.  She was actually feeling a little lightheaded, but she decided against telling her mother that.

            "Good . . . you really do look nice sweetie."

            "Thanks Mom," Rory said, unable to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice.

            "Listen, Rory, are you sure you really want to do this?  I mean I'm sure you and Jess could have just as good a time hanging out here, you know, reading, watching a movie, sucking each other's faces off . . ."

            "Mom!" Rory said, feeling her cheeks turn crimson.

            "Hey, I was just trying to get some color in those pale cheeks, and look! It worked!"

            Rory rolled her eyes at this statement.  "No, I think this is something I really need to do."

            "But why, babe? Don't you think it's just gonna dredge up painful memories?"

            "Yeah maybe, but I still think I need to do this . . . just to, you know, show Jess that I'm really over Dean. . ."

            "And?" Lorelai asked, sensing there was more her daughter needed to tell her.

            "And well maybe I need to prove to myself that I'm over Dean," Rory whispered.

            "But, sweetie, what if you aren't?" Lorelai asked softly, "I mean you dated him for so long, and it's only been a month . . . Not being _over_ him doesn't mean you still want to _be_ with him, or that you don't want to be with Jess, It just means that your human.  Maybe you should give it some more time before you do something like this."

            Rory was saved from having to respond to her Mother's statement when she heard Jess pulling up in their driveway.  "There's Jess," Rory announced, giving her Mom a hug before heading to the door, "And Don't worry Mom, I'm sure I can handle this," Rory said with as much confidence as she could muster.

            "Alright, Cinderella - home before midnight or you know what will happen!"  Lorelai called as Rory headed out the door.

            Jess was just coming up the steps when Rory rushed down to meet him.  Without thinking she threw herself into his arms and kissed him so hard she almost knocked him off his feet.  She guessed her nerves had made her more bold than usual, and when she pulled back she was pleased with the surprised look on Jess's face.

            "What was that for," he asked.

            "Oh, nothing . . . you just looked especially kissable tonight," Rory told him with a sly smile.

            "Is that so?"

            "Mmm hmm . . ."

            "Well you know you look rather kissable yourself, Rory Gilmore," Jess said huskily as her lowered his head back down to Rory's.  He could barely control himself when he felt her soft, pliable lips beneath his own rough ones.  She opened her mouth for him before he even prompted her to and he quickly took advantage, tasting her sweetness and gently caressing her tongue with his own.  Just when Jess thought the kiss couldn't grow any deeper, more arousing, he heard Rory moan and make this sexy little sound in the back of her throat, and he roughly hauled her soft body up against him own, molding her to him.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and starting caressing her back as she moved her hands above his head and into his hair.  Just when Jess was starting to believe that the ridiculous idea of throwing her onto the ground and making love to her in the front lawn didn't actually sound so bad, Rory came to her senses and pulled back.

            The dark and passionate look in Jess's eyes made Rory want to forget about playing the role of the good, innocent girl, and slam her mouth back over his.  She resisted though, and trying to lighten the mood, said the first thing that came to her mind, "Jess now look what you've done, you've ruined my hair and my face."

            Jess decided not to remark on her ridiculous comment about "ruining her face", and instead slowly whispered, "I like how you look . . ."

            "And how do I look?" Rory whispered, even as she told herself she shouldn't ask.

            "Like I've just kissed you deeply and passionately and made you hot and crazy like you wanted to-"

            "Jess!" Rory whispered, flustered, slapping her hand over his mouth.

            Jess kissed the palm of her hand, and smiled at her, pleased with her always innocent and refreshing reaction. "C'mon let's get this over with."

            "You know this won't be so bad," Rory said, once they were both seated in the car and on their way to Hartford.  They had agreed to meet Dean and Mandi at the restaurant around 7:30.

            "Like hell, Rory I still don't understand why you want to go out to dinner with Dean and that flippy girl."

            "Flippy?"  Rory asked with a smile.

            "Well how would you describe her?"

            Rory could think of several ways, but deciding none of them were polite, she turned on the radio instead.  The thick twang of a country song filled the car and Rory bit back a laugh, "Garth Brooks, huh? Nice."

            "Yeah, well" Jess said with a sheepish grin.

            "You just never struck me as a country sort of guy."

            "Yes well, I'm a very complex guy," Jess said, only half-joking.

            "This I know." 

            "So how are you feeling, You said you had a headache yesterday?"

            "Err, I feel okay, I might still be coming down with a little cold."

            "I hope it's nothing to contagious," Jess said with a hot glance that made Rory's pulse quicken.

            "No, I wouldn't think so."

            "Good." 

            The two sat in companionable silence, listening to Garth sing about a thunder storm or something, for several minutes until Jess broke the silence, "You look really pretty tonight, Rory," he said softly.

            Rory glanced over at him, and noticed that the compliment had embarrassed him.  That made her appreciate it all the more, "Thank you," she said smiling at him.  She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it softly.  He returned the affectionate gesture, and the two stayed that way the rest of the way to Hartford.

***

            When Jess and Rory arrived at _Amici's_, the Italian restaurant, Dean and Mandi were already there.  Jess joined Rory, casually draping her arm around her shoulder, and the two joined Dean and Mandi by the steps.  Jess felt like punching Dean when he saw his eyes freely roam over Rory's body, taking in everything with an appreciative expression.  Jess knew this had been a bad idea, he still didn't know how Rory had talked him into it.  Well actually he did.  He was smart enough to admit, at least to himself, that he would give Rory anything she wanted.  God, she had made him soft.  Soft enough to agree to spend an evening with idiotic Dean, anyway.

            "Oh Rory!  You look so beautiful!"  Mandi cried.

            "You do too," Rory returned, fighting the jealous twitch that had suddenly appeared when she had seen how stunning Mandi looked.  Mandi was wearing a long, low cut black dress that didn't leave much to imagination.  She had left her hair down, but obviously curled it, because it was it in a wild array on her slender shoulders.  She was wearing makeup tonight, and she looked so amazing Rory suddenly felt like a mouse standing next to her.

            "You don't look so bad yourself, Jess," Dean said with a smirk, "You cleaned up surprisingly well."

            "Same to you, Dean.  I barely recognize you without the apron and a can of peas in you hand."

            Mandi, obviously oblivious to the downright hostility between the two boys gave them a confused smile, "You both look just wonderful, now let's go inside and get our table."

            Rory frowned.  Was it just her imagination or had Mandi been staring awfully hard at Jess when she made her "just wonderful" comment.  She dismissed the idea quickly from her mind, and allowed Jess to gently guide her inside.

***

            "Well I guess they really want you to get the full Italian experience," Dean said with a frown, referring to the fact the menu was entirely in Italian.

            "Oh, that's okay," Mandi said with a grin, "I can speak Italian."

            "Really?"  Dean asked.

            "Mmm hmm, I learned when I was about ten."

            "Good, you can help me figure out what to order." Dean said with a boyish grin.

            Rory looked at Mandi in astonishment.  The girl may act like a moron, but she was apparently really smart.  Rory swallowed her pride though, and allowed Mandi to help her out with the menu, as well.  The waiter came and took their orders, and the four of them found themselves sitting at the table in an uncomfortable silence.  

            "Well this restaurant is really amazing, everything is so beautiful."  Mandi said with a sigh.  

            "Yeah, everything is beautiful," Dean agreed with a meaningful look in Rory's direction.  His gaze made Rory blush, a fact not missed by Jess.  Mandi apparently didn't care though, she kept right on chattering about how authentic and homey the restaurant was, and how charming the little dance floor looked.

            "So, Rory, anything new? It's been a while since we'll really talked," Dean said., completely ignoring everyone else at the table.  Rory glanced over at Mandi, who to Rory's astonishment was smiling coyly and batting her eyelashes furiously at Jess.  _What the hell is going on here?_ Rory thought, thoroughly frustrated. 

            "Um, not much," Rory stammered, shooting a nasty look at Mandi, who was still goggling at Jess. "Just the, ya know, usual, school, coffee, Luke's, Mom . . .Jess," she said firmly, proud of herself.

            Dean just shrugged.

            Jess looked up when he heard Rory say his name.  He didn't have a clue as to what she said though, he had been too busy trying to figure out what the hell this Mandi girl's problem was.  She acted like their was something in her eye.

            "Mandi, are you okay?" Jess asked.

            "What, oh I'm fine," Mandi said giggling hysterically.

            Rory shot a disgruntled look in Jess's direction and Jess wondered what he had done wrong. "What?"

            "Nothing," she snapped.

            "Oh, I love this song!" Mandi cried, "I want to dance, Oh! Jess, will you dance with me?"

            Rory's mouth fell open.  Who in the hell did Mandi think she was, anyway?  And why wasn't Dean upset that his new girlfriend couldn't keep her eyes off of Jess?!

            "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea, Mandi," Jess said with an uncomfortable glance at Rory.

            "What? Oh Rory, doesn't mind, do you?" Mandi asked smiling at Rory.

            For once in her life Rory decided to be rude, because this was just too much. "Actually I do," she snapped, causing everyone at the table to look at her in surprise.

            Mandi stared at Rory blankly, and Rory felt herself get embarrassed over her outburst.  "Well it's just that I, uh, this is my favorite song, too, and I wanted to dance with Jess.  Why don't you dance with _Dean_?" Rory said, trying to recover herself.

            Mandi gave Dean a look Rory didn't understand, and the two of them went off to the dance floor.

            "So, uh, you wanted to dance?" Jess said looking at Rory.

            "Um, yeah" Rory said, standing and following Jess out onto the terrace where the music was playing.

            "Funny, I never knew that an Italian song was one of you favorites." Jess said with an amused smirk.

            Rory just sighed, trying not to stare at Mandi in Dean's arms.  Mandi was still looking at Jess like a cat would look at a mouse.  This evening really wasn't going like Rory had planned. . . and Rory was feeling sicker and sicker as the evening went on.

            Jess tried not to glare at Dean as he slowly danced with Rory.  The bastard had done nothing but stare at Rory since they had gotten there.  Jess's earlier assumption had obviously been correct.  Somehow, someway, this was all just a ploy to get Rory back.

            When the four of them were seated back at the table, the uncomfortable silence returned while they waited for their food.  Mandi, thinking to break the silence asked, "So, Rory, you like _The Faustini's_?"

            "Huh?" Rory said.

            "You know _The Faustini's_, the one's who sung the song?" Mandi said, a confused expression on her pretty face.

            "Oh yeah, their great.  Really, uh, talented."  Rory stammered, shooting an annoyed glance at Jess who gave her a knowing wink.

            "Before today, Mandi was the only one I knew who could stand that kind of music." Dean said with an loving grin at Mandi, causing Rory to be yet again, hit by a confusing burst of jealousy.  The jealousy wasn't the only thing confusing her, though, this whole night was making her head hurt.  If Dean and Mandi liked each other so much, why was Mandi all over Jess?  And even more so, why didn't Dean care?  Rory knew only too well how controlling and possessive he could be.

            "Yeah," Mandi said, breaking into Rory's thoughts, "I was going to see them in concert at the Hartford Theater last spring, but something came up and my Mom couldn't take me.  Gosh, I can't wait until I'm old enough to drive!"  Mandi giggled.

            Since no one said anything, Jess politely inquired, "When do you get you licence?"

            "Oh, not for a while . . . I just turned fourteen."

            Rory choked on the roll she was eating.  Even Jess couldn't hide his shock.

            Mandi, thinking to explain said, "Oh I know, everyone tells me I look older than I really am.  But truth is I skipped first grade, so I'm actually a year younger than everyone in my class!"

            This was too much, Rory couldn't take anymore, without thinking she blurted out, "Your dating someone who just turned _fourteen_!?"

            It was now Dean and Mandi's turn to choke.  Dean coughed in surprise and Mandi spit out the water that was in her mouth . . . all over Jess.

            "Hey watch the sprinker works, I already had a shower tonight," Jess said disgustedly, wiping himself off.

            "Oh and trust me, Jess would never take two showers in one night," Dean spat venomously at Jess. 

            "Listen asshole . . ."

            "Jess, people are staring," Rory pleaded, starting to get incredibly upset.  Jess nodded, agreeing to Rory's indirectly stated request to control himself.

            "Rory, Mandi is my younger cousin," Dean explained with a tender look at Rory.

            "Your dating you cousin?!" Rory cried, too distraught to think clearly.

            Jess laughed, "You must be more desperate than I thought, Dean, and trust me, that's quite an accomplishment."

            Dean shot a nasty look at Jess but didn't comment.

            "Rory, Mandi and I aren't dating.   I can't believe you thought I would drag in my new girlfriend just to rub in your face.  I'm not that low," he paused when he heard another disbelieving snort from Jess's direction but then continued, "I introduced you to my cousin because I knew you could help her . . . I . . . Rory what's the point in dating someone new when your still in love with someone else?"

            Dean had looked straight into Rory's eyes when he said this, and Rory had little doubt as to just who Dean was still in love with.  Rory suddenly felt like she was suffocating.  This wasn't supposed to be like this . . . Dean shouldn't still love her . . . Mandi shouldn't be drooling all over Jess . . . God her head hurt . . . Why the hell were all these people staring at her?!  Rory stood up, knowing she had to get out of there fast.  Unfortunately she fainted before she made it to the door.

***Special thanks to the person who pointed out my stupid mistake concerning the whole Latin/Italian thing . . .  I must have been brain-dead when I wrote this haha . . . anyway if I made any more ditzy errors please don't hesitate to let me know! : )***

Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews . . . This is my first attempt at any fic ever -so I really appreciate any feedback! wink, wink, nudge, nudge! Haha lol


	7. Pet Monkey

Chapter 7

            Jess was scared.  It was a new feeling for him. . . and he didn't like it.  He briefly thought back to the times in New York.  He had gotten in trouble a lot back then . .  He remembered all the police chases, the close encounters with groups of guys who were in the mood to beat his brains out . . . he had thought that he had been scared then.  He realized now that he had been wrong.  What he had experienced back then was nothing more than an adrenaline rush.  He had never known fear like the kind that was coursing through his veins when he saw Rory's crumpled body lying lifeless on the floor.

            "And now that we're being so honest with everything, I might as well tell you just what I think of your sorry ass," Dean sneered at Jess, oblivious to the fact that anything was wrong.  His back was facing the door, and he therefore hadn't seen Rory faint. "You have no idea what you destroyed.  You'll never have what I had with Rory, you ..." Dean trailed off when he suddenly noticed the stricken look of Jess's face.

            Jess wasn't paying any attention to Dean.  He suddenly snapped out of his fear-stricken trance and leapt up to run to Rory.

            Dean turned around with a sick feeling forming in his stomach.  He felt his heart drop when he saw Rory lying by the door.  He immediately jumped up as well, running for the door.

            Jess was faster.  He was already kneeling by Rory before Dean had barely made it out of his chair.  Jess noticed a few waiters scrambling around yelling ... something about 911.  Jess was too out of it to really care.  He carefully turned Rory over and brushed the hair out of her face.  She looked so pale and helpless . . . It was like someone had stuck a knife through his heart and twisted it.  Jess heard Dean yelling and Mandi crying but couldn't comprehend anything.  The only thing he could think was that Rory had to be alright ... he couldn't lose her.

            About that time Rory whimpered.  It was the sweetest noise Jess had ever heard in his life.  Her eyelids fluttered and peeked open.  She looked scared and confused.

            _Wow . . . these lights are bright_, Rory thought, _I wonder why Jess looks so sad.  Why, he looks like he might cry!  I must be dreaming . . . Jess would never cry.  I can't wait to tell him ... he'll get a kick out of this dream . . . Oh no I think I forgot to tell Mom that I want to get a pet monkey . . ._

Jess was obviously unaware of the disoriented thoughts going on his girlfriend's mind.  He was just so happy that she had woke up ... so happy that he realized he was in jeopardy of crying.  _Dammit_, he thought, _what the hell is wrong with me?  She's fine Mariano,  She just fainted . . . get a grip. _ Nonetheless, he was stilling having trouble controlling his rapid heartbeat.

            "Jess?" Rory whispered, her voice soft and shallow.  Reality was slowing coming back to her, and she was scared.

            "It's okay, Rory.  You're safe" Jess whispered back, astonished at how hoarse his voice sounded.

            About that time Jess felt a pair of hands on his shoulder.  "You're going to have to move, son.  We need to get her into the ambulance," a man said gently.

            "Ambulance?" Rory whispered, becoming alarmed.

            "It'll be fine Rory.  Jess and Mandi and I will be waiting on you when you get to the hospital.  This is just a precaution, baby, just to make sure you're alright." Dean said, kneeling down next to Rory out of nowhere.

            Jess gripped Rory more tightly, reluctant to let her go.  

            Eventually, the paramedics had to pry her out of his arms.  Jess stood numbly next to Dean . . . watching as the bright lights of the ambulance faded into the distance ... wondering if it was all real.

***

            Jess shoved his hands in his pockets and headed down the brightly illuminated hallway of the hospital.  The damn lights were making his head hurt, and he felt like he was choking on the thick scent of antiseptics that clung to the air.  He had been there for over 30 minutes and he still hadn't heard anything about Rory.  Not that he hadn't asked . . . he thought grimly about the nurse who now probably thought he was Satan's child based on how he had treated her.

            _Dammit_, he thought yet again, silently cursing himself for not noticing that Rory wasn't feeling well. . . that all the "excitement" had obviously upset her.  _Jeez she even told you she thought she was getting sick.  Why the hell did you even agree to come tonight?  You should have made her stay home and rest._

            Jess sighed when he reached the pay phone, dreading what he knew he had to do.  He picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.   

            "Hello," a gruff voice answered, surprising Jess.

            "Luke?" he asked, momentarily caught off guard.

            "Jess?"

            "What are you doing at Rory's house?"

            "I .. Uh.. Just came over to .. Never mind, why are you calling?"

            Jess quickly lost his curiosity as to why Luke was spending the evening with Lorelai when he remembered the grim circumstances under which he was calling.  "I need to speak to Lorelai," he said harshly.

            "Jess . . ." Luke said in a warning tone.  Luke knew something was wrong.  Jess sounded like he had just recovered from the plague.  Luke briefly wondered why the kid had to screw everything up.  He didn't mean to be unfair, but he still leapt to the conclusion that Jess had done something else to get Rory into trouble.  _And now Jess will lose Rory ... and I .. I'll lose Lorelai ... just when things ... ugh should've known . . ._

            Lorelai bounced into the living room just then.  "Look Lukie, I made us dinner!"  She said holding up a take-out box from the local Chinese restaurant.

            "Phone," Luke said simply, handing the receiver to Lorelai.  

            Lorelai frowned, "What's got your knickers in a wad?" she asked before putting the phone to her ear.  "Hello?"

            "Lorelai?"

            "Jess?" She asked, helpless to prevent the foreboding knot that suddenly appeared in her stomach.  Lorelai didn't trust Jess.  She couldn't help it . . . he didn't exactly have the best track record after all.   But still, he made Rory happy and Lorelai wanted Rory to be happy, so she had agreed to support their relationship.  But now . . . now that he was calling sounding totally depressed . . . calling when he was supposed to be on a date with her daughter ... Lorelai couldn't help the doubts that were suddenly clouding her mind.  Something had to be wrong.

            "Uh, yeah."

            "How sweet of you to call and check in like this.  You know most dates simply settle for getting the girl back home on time . . . but _you_, you really know how to impress the mom.  I mean, I know your not calling to tell me that my daughter has been arrested or mugged or . . . put in the hospital ... again," she finished icily, halfway regretting how cold she sounded.  She knew she was jumping the gun, but . . .

            Silence.

            "Jess. . .?" Lorelai was starting to panic.

            Jess wasn't surprised Lorelai thought he had done something to Rory.  He had been expecting it really.  Though it did kind of irk him, but he decided he really couldn't blame Lorelai.  He had, after all, been responsible for getting Rory in a car accident and fracturing her wrist.

            "She fainted, Lorelai," Jess stated bluntly.  He had never had a way with words.

            "What?!"

            "In the restaurant . . . Rory . . . she got upset and went to leave and then I don't know . . . she just fainted.  We're at the hospital in Hartford now."

            "Upset? Upset how?" Lorelai spat.

            Part of Jess wanted to blame the whole thing on Dean.  But then again, he was really blaming himself for the whole thing anyway . . .

            "Well, Rory found out that Mandi was - "

            "Never mind.  Tell Rory I'll be there as soon as possible."

            The phone went dead.

***

            "Well look what we have here.  The good boyfriend calling the Mom to let her know that daughter is in the hospital.  Bet Lorelai loved that one."

            "What do you want, Dean?" Jess asked, not in the mood for a confrontation.  He was still feeling a little dejected over the way both Luke and Lorelai had automatically concluded that he had done something to hurt Rory.  If only they knew . . . Jess would rather die than hurt Rory on purpose.

            "Oh wait ... seems to me that this isn't the first time Rory has landed in the hospital while she was out with you.  What an unusual coincidence."

            "Get over it Dean, I unfortunately lack the magical gift of making people faint whenever I feel like it."

            "Yeah, I guess your right.  It really isn't your fault that Rory fainted.  I'm sure Lorelai understood, too.  I mean, I know how much she trusts you with her daughter."

            Dean was really starting to piss Jess off.  He could feel himself getting angry. "You know what?  If we really want to play the blame game, why don't we consider  the role you played in this lovely evening."

            "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

            "Well, let's see.  To begin with, I believe that last thing said to Rory before she fainted was that you still loved her.  Guess she was really thrilled over that bit of news.  Funny , really . . . . I sure hope the next time I tell a girl I love her, she doesn't go and faint on me - "

            "Get to the point, Jess."

            "As I was saying . . . If you really want to get technical with all this, we never would have even been out tonight if you hadn't lied to Rory and made her believe that Mandi was your girlfriend."

            "I never lied to Rory," Dean said with a sneer.

            "Bullshit!  You wanted her to believer you were dating your "cousin" or whatever.  I don't know what your game was but somehow, you were trying to get her back!"

            They were both yelling at this point . . . both unaware of the curious glances they were getting from the passer byers in the hallway.

            "Fine!  Maybe I did want Rory to believe that.  Maybe I was trying to make her jealous.  It doesn't really matter though, does it?  Because it _did_ work, Rory_ was_ jealous!"

            "Some way to treat a girl you 'love'."

            "Oh give it up Jess!  Sure Rory was attracted to you in the beginning.  The good girls always fall for the bad guys.  But you can't possibly think it will last.  Eventually Rory will wake up and realize what a piece of trash you are.  And she'll come back to me . . . the person who really loves her.  I was just trying to save her a lot of pain."

            "You don't know what the hell your talking about!"

            "Sure I do!  I love Rory and she still loves me, even if she doesn't realize it!  You'll never have what we have!  Never!  You'll never be able to love Rory like I do!  You don't even know what love is!"  

            Jess didn't answer.

Well Guys, what did you think?  I know it wasn't the best chapter, the next one should be better.  It might be a week or so before I get it up though . . . I have exams next week, fun huh?  Anyway, Please review! : )


	8. The Art of Fainting

Chapter 8

            Rory lay alone in the hospital room they had stuck her in.  She decided they must have forgotten about her.  A horde of nurses had originally surrounded her and did a bunch of things . . . like take her temperature, her blood pressure . . . she really wasn't sure exactly what all they had done, actually.  A doctor had then come in, looked over her, and then promptly left.  That had been at least thirty minutes ago.  She hadn't seen a soul since.  Where was her Mom?  Where was Dean? . . . Where was Jess?

            Jess.

            Rory didn't want to think about Jess just yet.  She wasn't sure why, but they thought of him suddenly made her want to cry.  She looked around the room for something . . . anything to distract her.

            Her little room looked quite lonely.  There was another bed on the opposite side, but it appeared to be currently unoccupied.  The was a curtain separating the two sides of the room, but it wasn't closed.  Other than that the only things in the room were two small night stands, and a sitting chair in the corner.  It looked suspiciously like a room they would stick you in if you were going to be spending the night.  They didn't expect her to spend the night, did they?  Rory was suddenly feeling sick again.  She didn't need to stay in the hospital. . .  she had just a small fainting attack due to her lack of food.  She was just hungry, that was all.  Didn't they understand the only thing she really needed was to go home?

            Rory took a deep breath in an attempt to fight back her rapidly approaching tears.  Sitting up straighter in her bed, she reached over and opened the drawer to the bed side table.  Inside lay an old, worn, forgotten book . . .

            _Hemingway._

Rory started to cry.  She couldn't help it.  The thing she didn't understand though, was why she was crying.  The answer was there, pushing it's way to the front of her mind, but she just wasn't quite ready to acknowledge it.  She thought back to the dinner earlier that evening.  It seemed like such a long time ago.  Little snippets of conversation floated through her head.  The comment about Dean still loving her seemed to replay itself over and over again.

            Rory suddenly admitted to herself why she was crying.  And it had nothing to with Dean ... directly that is.  

            She was in love with Jess.

            _Really_ in love.  Not the kind of love she had felt for Dean.  Not the girlish, fluttery throes of a first love.  This was real.  Deep and passionate.  Rory had thought she loved Dean . . . but she _knew_ she loved Jess.  But this was a dangerous kind of love.  The kind that could break her heart.

            And it would.  

            Rory started to cry harder.  She loved Jess so much.  But he didn't love her.  Rory wasn't even sure he could.  Jess had so put so many walls up over the years.  He was so difficult to read, and just when Rory would think she was really getting through to him, he would close back up on her.  Rory wasn't sure he would accept her love even if she gave it to him.  Jess didn't seem like the type who be interested in a serious, long term relationship.  He didn't seem like the type who want to be trapped by feelings of love.   He never had, but Rory hadn't been concerned about that when she had originally started dating him.  Back before she had fallen in love with him.  Now if she lost him . . . what would she do?

            And what if he stayed?  What if he never realized that he loved her, or even if he did, what if he would never be able to tell her?  Could she live like that?  In a relationship where the man she loved would never trust her enough to be able to express his own feelings?

            Rory suddenly decided this was why the whole fiasco with Dean had upset her so much.  She didn't still love Dean.  Actually, she was beginning to not even like him that much.  However, maybe she did miss the security of being in love.  With Dean, everything had always been safe.  Jess bordered on downright dangerous.  Still, she was smart enough to admit that was one of the many reasons she loved him.  

            Rory came to a conclusion.  Her hidden fear that Jess would never be able to love her was the main reason she had been feeling so insecure about Dean and his new girlfriend ... or cousin ... or whatever.  Rory smiled, remembering her comment about him "dating his cousin".  They must have all thought she was crazy.

            Rory was feeling a bit better.  At least she had realized one good thing.  She really _was_ over Dean.  She hadn't been suffering from jealously after all, and that was quite a relief.  It would have to do for now.  Rory sighed . . . deciding to deal with the rest of her problems later.

*****

            Lorelai made her way down the hospital corridor, her heels clicking on the linoleum.  She stopped when she reached room 412.  She quickly threw the door open and walked inside.  

            Rory looked like she had been crying.  _Well of course she's been crying.  She's all alone in a scary hospital and it took her mother an hour to get here!_  Lorelai silently cursed herself.  Lorelai decided to skip the sentimental bit for now, not wanting her daughter to cry anymore.  Instead she walked over to her bed with a serious expression.

            "So you fainted, huh?  Well I certainly hope you did it right."

            "What do you mean," Rory asked, sitting up straighter.

            "Why, Rory!  Whatever do you mean, what do I mean?!  There is an art to fainting, dear girl.  See, you have to hold your hand up to your forehead, see like this,"  Lorelai said while demonstrating," and say something like 'Oh my, I do declare I'm going to swoon' and then gracefully descend to the ground!"

            "Oh, well, I must have been sleeping the day we had fainting lessons."

            "Everybody knows how to faint!  Oh well, you'll do better next time."

            Rory raised an eyebrow.

            "Oh, your right, there won't be a next time.  In that case, I'll just block this unfortunate occurrence from my mind."

            "You do that," Rory said, pretending to be annoyed.

            The two fell into a silence.  Lorelai went and pulled the chair out of the corner and took her seat. 

            "So, umm, I talked to your doctor."

            "Yeah?"  Rory asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

            "Well, apparently your fainting symptoms were 'unusual'.  They doctor said he wanted to run a few more tests, just to be on the safe side, and since it's so late he thought it would be better to just wait and do it in the morning . . ." Lorelai trailed off.

            "So we go home and come back tomorrow?" Rory asked hopefully.

            "Well no . . . They won't let you go since they don't know what's wrong with you.  Your gonna have to stay here tonight kiddo," she said quietly.  Noticing the panicked look on her daughters face, she quickly continued, "But don't worry!  I'm gonna stay here all night too.  I'll sleep in this chair right here.  And look!  I brought you some stuff from home."  Lorelai handed Rory a bag full of her possessions.

            Rory peeked in side.  She saw some personal items like her makeup, hairbrush, toothbrush, etc, along with a stuffed animal, some books, her CD player, and some CDs.

            "You brought me my 20 Best Love Songs of All Time CD?"  Rory asked incredulously.  

            "What, you know it's your favorite!"

            "Yeah, but I can't be seen listening to it in public!"

            "Oh well, hide it.  Listen hun, Luke's out in the lobby.  I'm gonna tell him that you're okay and then I'll probably go get some dinner because I haven't eaten yet, but I'll be back right after that, I promise."

            "It's ok Mom, take your time.  I'm pretty tired.  I guess I'll just try and get some rest."

            "Alright sweets, love you."

            "I love you too Mom."

*****

            As tired as Rory was she couldn't sleep.  Against her better judgement she pulled out her love songs CD and listened to it for a while.  When she glanced over at the clock and noticed it was almost 1:00 in the morning she decided she really ought to go to bed.  She carelessly tossed her player and her CD case over onto the little night table.  Turning off the lamp, she closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable.

            A few minutes later she heard the door swing open.  Figuring it was just her Mother, she kept her eyes closed.

            Jess stopped in the doorway.  Rory was asleep, just as he expected that she would be.  He glanced over his shoulder and shut the door.  He knew it was past visiting hours, but he didn't exactly care.  He figured he had at least 20 minutes before Lorelai showed back up again.  She was in pretty bad shape.  She was really worried about Rory, and was currently sobbing all over Luke.  Her reaction made Jess worry too.  He hadn't really expected them to keep Rory over night.

            Jess shook his head and sighed.  After his encounter with Dean, he had stormed out of the hospital and walked around the block . . .  about 20 times, in an attempt to cool his temper down.  He had thought about the last thing Dean had said to him.

            _"You don't even know what love is!"_

            Once upon a time, Dean would have been right.  There had been a time when Jess hadn't known what love was . . . but that was before he had met Rory Gilmore.  She had changed everything.  He _did _love her ... so much.  But the feeling was so new to him . . . he just didn't really know what to with it.  Honestly, even the thought of actually saying the words to her made him feel sick with anxiety.  Plus, Rory was so incredible.  She was so beautiful and sweet and smart.  Could a girl like that every love a guy like him?  He doubted it.

             Jess quietly closed the door, crossed the room and took his seat in the chair by Rory's bed.  She looked so helpless when she was lying there asleep like that.  He sighed and ran his hand through his hair as his eyes roamed over to her night table.  He saw a CD laying there.  He smirked when he saw what it was.  He wasn't really surprised though.  Rory thought no one knew that she listened to that sappy music, but he had known for a long time that _Up Where We Belong_ was her favorite song.  Ever since he had heard her mother tease her about it when they had thought no one was listening.  

            Jess suddenly had the urge to say something . . . anything to her, to show the way he was feeling.  _But it would seem so stupid . . . then again she is sleeping.  What could it hurt?_  He glanced around the room one last time to make sure no one was around that might hear him.  He leaned down closer to Rory and began to softly whisper . . . 

            _"Love lifts us up where we belong,_

_            Where the eagles fly, on a mountain high,_

_            Love lifts us up where we belong,_

_            Far from the world below,_

_            Where the clear winds blow."_

            Jess ran his hands through his hair once again, feeling stupid.  Not only had he just said the words to a song that he normally wouldn't have even admitted to having ever heard before, he had said them to a girl was fast asleep.  _I really am losing it_, he thought with a sigh.   He leaned over and softly kissed Rory's forehead and stood up to leave.  He had a feeling he would be walking around the block quite a few more times before the night was over.  He had a lot of thinking to do.

*****

            Rory's eyes shot open when she heard the door quietly close.  He heart was slamming in her chest and she quickly pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.  She was pretty sure it was real, but .... she couldn't believe it.

            Jess loved her. 

Oh, maybe he hadn't said the words, and sure he had thought she was asleep, but that didn't change anything.  Rory knew Jess.  She knew the kind of person he was, and he was not the kind of person to go whispering the words to a sappy love song to a girl that he didn't love.  Rory suddenly started smiling, and when she did she couldn't stop.  Jess loved her . . . maybe he wasn't ready to tell her, heck maybe he didn't even realize it himself.  But he did.  Rory would make him realize that he loved her.  She knew it wasn't be easy, but she was up to the challenge.  In the mean time, she could wait.  What he had said to her tonight would be able to keep her satisfied for quite a while.

Well there ya go : ) ok, ok I know ... it was incredibly sappy, but what can I say? *Sigh*  I'm a hopeless romantic at heart!  But anyways please review and let me know what you think!  My exams are over now (and I passed all of them *YaY* lol) so I should be able to finish this up over Christmas break.  I've still got a couple chapters up my sleeve! Hehe : ) ~*!*~


	9. Sweet Tooth

Chapter Nine

            Rory was sitting in her hospital bed, nervously twirling strands of her hair around her fingers.  Her hands were shaking slightly, and she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.  She glanced over at her Mom, who was looking at a magazine.  Rory didn't really think she was reading it though, considering she had been staring at the same page for over half an hour.

            Rory sighed.  After everything that had happened to her last night, she hadn't really had a chance to get nervous about what exactly was wrong with her.  The more she thought about it though, the more worried she got.  After all, lots of people fainted, and she had never heard of any one being put in the hospital because of it.  They had said her symptoms were "unusual" . . . now what the hell did that mean?  The longer she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she was suffering from some sort of horrible disease.  Just when she was about to work herself up into a state of tears, the door swung open, and Dr. Renyard walked in.

            "Well, Good Morning ladies, Rory . . . Ms. Gilmore," Dr. Renyard nodded at each of them respectively. 

             Dr. Renyard looked like she was in her early thirties.  She had pale blonde hair and kind gray eyes.  There were little lines around the corners of her mouth, indicating that she smiled regularly.  In fact, she was smiling now.  __

_            'She wouldn't be smiling if I was dying or something, would she?'_ Rory thought to herself in an attempt to calm down.

            "How do you feel this morning, Rory?" she asked.

            "Oh, pretty good," Rory weakly smiled back at the pretty woman.

            "Have you figured out what's wrong with my daughter?" Lorelai asked bluntly.  She was too nervous and upset to be her usual witty self.

            "Well Rory's tests from this morning have come in, and they were more than enough to show us what was wrong," Dr. Renyard said seriously.

            Lorelai reached over and grabbed her daughters hand.  Rory squeezed it tightly, comforted just by her Mother's touch.  Rory nodded at Dr. Renyard, and the woman continued.

            "First, though, I must ask, Rory have you been experiencing headaches or nausea as a regular occurrence?"

            Rory chewed her lip thoughtfully and said, "Well, actually I really haven't felt a hundred percent since school started . . ."

            "Rory!  Why didn't you say something?" Lorelai asked, shocked.

            "Well, I just blamed it on stress from school and everything.  I didn't start feeling really sick until about a week ago.  I just didn't think it was that serious . . . it's not is it?" Rory asked her doctor nervously.  

            Dr. Renyard smiled, "Well it's not an issue to be taken lightly, but things could certainly be worse.  Rory, apparently you're a diabetic."

            "I'm a what?" Rory asked, astonished.

            "Your suffering from diabetes, though thankfully it's not a serious case."

            "Diabetes . . . but I don't understand, why would that just pop up all of a sudden?"

            "Well, it's actually quite common for diabetes to appear as a person gets older.  It doesn't always just start when you're still a child.  In your case, however, your blood sugar levels aren't overly out of the normal range, and this is most likely why it took so long for you to catch it."

            "So what does all this mean?" Lorelai asked.

            "Basically what this means is that Rory's body isn't producing quite enough insulin to maintain an appropriate blood sugar level.  Now, this is a perfectly treatable illness and shouldn't in any way interfere with Rory's everyday normal life."

            "I'm uh . . . not going to have to prick my finger every day, am I?" Rory asked nervously, remembering a girl named Anna from middle school.  Anna had had diabetes, and she had needed to prick her finger twice a day to check her blood sugar.  Rory remembered feeling incredibly sorry for the girl . . . she hated needles.

            "Actually, your case isn't serious enough for that.  All you'll need to do is pay special attention to exercise and your diet.  Exercise directly lowers blood sugar levels, so you'll probably want to start some sort of program, like jogging or riding a bike in the evening or something like that.  More importantly, however, you'll need to watch you diet.  You'll need to eat your meals on a regular schedule and have a snack at bedtime or in the late afternoon.  You also need to go low on the sweets.  Other than that, you'll just need to come in for regular check-ups and you should be fine.  I'll have a nurse come in explain more in depth exactly what you'll need to be doing . . . " she trailed off when she noticed the horror-struck expressions on the two Gilmore's faces.

            "Is something the matter?  You do understand that this is in no way a life threatening disorder, correct?"

            "Did you say 'go low on the sweets'?" Rory asked in a tiny voice.  Lorelai was too horrified to even speak.   

            "Well, yes . . . Your disorder means that you already have overly high blood sugar so naturally you can't eat that much sweet food.  I'm guessing you have a bit of a sweet tooth?"

            "That's an understatement," Lorelai said, finding her voice, "Just yesterday afternoon she had two bowls of ice cream and a bag of M&Ms."  Lorelai sounded proud.

            Rory was vigorously nodding, "You see, you don't understand . . . I _need_ junk food, I mean, it's right up there with coffee.  Oh God, coffee, please don't tell me I can't have coffee either," Rory looked like she might cry.

            "As long as you don't put sugar in it," Dr. Renyard looked like she was in jeopardy of laughing.

            The two Gilmore's groaned.

            Dr. Renyard _was_ laughing now, "You know I don't believe I've ever seen anyone so upset about the lack of sweets before. . . "

            "Trust me, it wouldn't be possible for anyone to be more upset about the lack of sweets than me," Rory announced with a pouty face.

            "Oh, you're wrong about that one kiddo," Lorelai said.

            "Really, who?" Rory challenged.

            "Me, of course," Lorelai said seriously.  She was actually feeling incredibly relieved that something was seriously wrong with her daughter.  Her wit was returning quite rapidly.

            "You two are something else.  But don't worry, you can have sweets as long as you don't go overboard.  And if you eat a little extra junk, then balance it out by taking a jog.  Don't worry, the nurse will explain it all in more detail.  It was nice meeting you, have a good day."  With that, Dr. Renyard exited the room.

            "Have a good day?  How can she expect you to have a good day when she has just taken away one of the soul purposes for existence?" Lorelai asked, feigning perplexity.

            "I know . . . this sucks."

            Lorelai nodded grimly in agreement.  

*****

            Jess made his way out to the waiting room and took a seat on one of the brightly colored couches.  There was a deep frown on his face, but he was actually in quite a good mood.  His relief that there was nothing seriously wrong with Rory was unexpressible.  Still, he had had to get away from Luke and Lorelai, who were incessantly arguing over the merits of junk food.  Luke was down right thrilled that Rory was going to have to cut back on the sweets, and in his reasoning he decided that Lorelai would also be forced to start eating healthier.  His reasoning was that if the younger Gilmore couldn't indulge in junk food, the older Gilmore would also have to be deprived, in order to keep temptation away from her daughter.  Lorelai had responded that he apparently didn't know her very well, and on the argument went.  Jess had left after that.

          Jess glanced at his watch.  It was almost 11:30 . . . he figured they'd be headed back to Stars Hollow any time now.  He still hadn't spoken to Rory, while she was awake that is, since last night at the restaurant.  He was actually a little nervous about seeing her again.  Her behavior lately was making him worry that she might actually _want_ to go back to Dean.  After all, she had seemed pretty jealous about Mandi and all . . . and then Dean had had to go and tell her that he still loved her . . . If Rory went back to Dean, Jess wasn't sure what he would do.

          Jess heard someone approach him from behind.  He turned around and was surprised to see Lorelai standing there, staring at him.  She actually looked a little uptight.

          "Listen, Jess . . . I want to apologize for the way I treated you last night on the phone.  I had no right to jump to the conclusion that you had done something to hurt Rory.  I treated you unfairly and I'm sorry," Lorelai said seriously.

          "It's no big deal," Jess responded, careful to keep any emotion out of his voice.

          "Well, I think it should be.  After all, I know you care about Rory, and as her Mother I play a pretty big role in her life.  You ought to care about what I think about you."

            She had backed him into a corner.  He sighed, "Of course I care what you think of me Lorelai, but I can't make you like me.  I can't make you trust me.  Both of which, you obviously don't."

            "I'm not going to lie to you Jess.  I can't say that I'm overly happy that you're dating my daughter, but in all fairness to me, you didn't exactly make the best first impression.  But I'm not blind.  You've been doing a lot better, and I can see that.  Even more importantly though, is that Rory sees something in you, and I trust her judgement."

            "What are you trying to say?"

            "Look, I'm not promising that we're going to suddenly develop a great relationship over night.  But I _am_ willing to try.  I'm going to do my best to give you a second chance, and I'll try to be more fair and open minded.  The way I treated you last night was wrong.  It won't happen again unless you do something to make it."

            The two were quiet for a minute when Jess spoke up, "I wouldn't hurt her, Lorelai."

            "I know."

*****

            Rory closed the door to her hospital room and quickly glanced up and down the hallway.  She had been released, and was free to go home, but she didn't have a clue as to where her Mother had gone.

            "Rory?"  she heard a voice behind her say.

            "Dean," she said, surprised.

            "I was coming to check on you, I guess they let you out."

            "Uh, yeah."

            "Nothing to serious, then?"

            "No," she said simply, not caring to go into details with Dean.

            "Rory . . . about last night," Dean began.

            "About last night," Rory interrupted, "I think we need to talk."

            "I think so too."

            Rory led Dean to a small waiting area on the far side of the hall.  She sat down, and motioned for him to sit down as well.

            "Dean we broke up."

            "Thanks for the recap."

            "Dean we broke up because things just weren't working anymore.  If we got back together, things still wouldn't be good.  What we had was great while it lasted, but it's gone now.  I've moved on, you need to move on too," Rory said softly.

            "Moved on?  Rory you haven't moved on.  You're with Jess for heavens sake.  How long to you think that will last?  Long enough for him to get what he needs and break your heart.  I know what kind of guy he is, Rory."

            "No, Dean," Rory said, fighting her anger, "You don't know what kind of person Jess is.  How could you?  You've never made any attempt to get to know him.  Please don't talk about things that you don't understand.  Jess and I are happy together, and no matter what you do, you won't be able to change that."

            "Rory, I love you," he said desperately.

            Rory shook her head sadly at him, "No you don't Dean.  You just don't realize it yet.  You got used to being in love with me.  You felt comfortable and safe with it.  It became so normal that you didn't even realize it when we fell out of love.  That was one of the main problems with our relationship.  Eventually you'll see, you'll meet somebody new, and then you'll understand what was missing in our relationship.  We just weren't meant to be together, Dean."

            "And what?  You and Jess are?"

            "I can't say anything for sure.  But I do know this.  _We_ don't have a future together.  Nothing you can say or do will change that," Rory's voice was calm and affirmative.  She was confident in what she was saying.  

            Dean stood up, and without another word, left Rory sitting alone.  Rory watched him go, feeling strangely free.  She knew that one chapter of her life, her life with Dean, was finally closed for good.  She could now move on completely to a new chapter, to her life with Jess.  

            _'Speaking of Jess . . .'_ she thought to herself with a smile.  Gathering her belongings, she headed off to find the man she loved.

*~!~* Well there ya go.  Don't worry, next chapter there will be lotsa R/J action *grins* Also, as to all the stuff about diabetes, I honestly don't know that much about the disease, and since I was too lazy to actually do any research, I just went with what I thought was right.  If I made some really horrible mistake, feel free to let me know and I'll change it.  Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please Review (you know you want to *hehe*) Bye *~!~*


	10. Declarations

A/N: Just to let you know, this chapter takes place about 2 days after the last one.  So I guess that makes it, like Tuesday.  Oh, and just in case you forgot, they're out on Christmas break, so that's why nobody's in school. : ) Enjoy!

Chapter 10

            "Need more oxygen . . . can't breathe," Lorelai panted.

            Rory looked back at her mother in obvious exasperation.  "Mom!  We've only ran a block!  How can you be tired already?" she asked, although she had to admit, she was a little out of breath too.  Still, her Mother looked like she had just finished a marathon.  Her head was hanging between her knees, and little pieces of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and plastered themselves to her forehead.

            "A whole block?  Wow, I'm doing better than I thought."

            "Mom," Rory groaned.

            "I'm sorry sweetie, but I think this is the first time I've actually exercised in, like my entire life."

            "You're exaggerating."

            "Since when have I ever exaggerated?"

            "That comment is not worthy of a response," Rory said while rolling her eyes, "C'mon, lets get going again."

            "My feet have temporarily stopped working," Lorelai said dramatically.

            "What?" Rory said, pretending to be annoyed.  

            "No, I'm serious!  My brain is frantically sending little signals to my feet saying 'Run, you can do it!' but my feet are saying 'No, we can't!' and there's this whole argument going on in my body, and let me just say, the feet are winning."

            "Mom, look, you're exaggerating right now."

            "Oh really?  So this is what exaggeration means."

            "Mom c'mon, I need to exercise.  It was your idea that we eat all that ice cream anyway."

            "Yeah, but Rory come on!  You can't watch a movie without ice cream."

            "I completely agree, BUT because I gave into my desire to stuff my face with sweets, I now must exercise."

            "Ugh, I know.  This diabetes thing is the pits."

            "I know . . . I don't know which is worse.  The low on the sweets part, or the high on the exercise part."

            "Well a few hours ago it was the sweets, but right now my vote is on the exercise."

            "Yeah, but still I need to do it.  But Mom, if you want to go back, it's okay.  I completely understand."

            "What, no, no sweetie.  It's okay.  This is my fault after all.  I'll stop complaining . . . for at least another block, anyway."

            "No, Mom, really it's fine, honestly.  I don't mind running alone.  Besides, I know you have that date with Luke tonight and all -"

            "Date?  I'm sorry when did it become a date?"

            "Uh, Mom, You and Luke, 7:00, dinner at a nice restaurant.  It's a date."

            "Good point.  Still, it's just weird.  I mean, it's Luke . . . don't you think it's weird?"

            "Nope, I don't think it's weird at all, I think it's great.  Now gone on, go home!"

            "Are you sure you don't mind sweetie?"

            "Yep."

            "Positive?"

            "Uh-huh."

            "One hundred percent sure?"

            "Mom!"

            "Okay, okay I'm going!"

*****

            About half an hour later, Rory was sitting alone on the bridge, staring off at the water, and breathing hard.  Her cheeks were brightly flushed and her heart was hammering.  She felt terrible, but she was pretty sure it was from the running, and not her blood sugar.  She had made it about a mile before she had decided to stop.  She knew that meant she was in pretty bad shape, but she still couldn't have run another step.  _'Man_,' she thought, _'All those people who run or jog for fun are completely out of their minds!'_

            Rory heard someone come up behind her.  She briefly hoped that it wasn't an ax murderer or kidnapper, because if it was, she was doomed.  There was no way she had the energy to escape.

            "Hey."

            Rory looked up and saw Jess lowering himself down to sit beside her.  "Hey," she returned with a smile.

            "What the hell happened to you?  You look awful," Jess said with a frown.

            "Well don't you know just what to say to make the ladies swoon."

            Jess smirked, "You know that's not what I meant."

            Rory laughed, "I know, I was just kidding.  But anyway, my Mom talked me into eating sweets, and because of my stupid diabetes, I now have to do extra exercise whenever I eat junk.  My Mom started to run with me, buy apparently her feet went on strike, so she had to go home."

            Jess laughed, "You know, I could run with you sometimes if you want."

            Rory looked at him, touched by his offer.  Then she giggled, "I'm not sure I'd want you to run with me.  You'd probably just make fun of me huffing and puffing."

            "I wouldn't," he said innocently, "How far did you make it this time?"

            "About a mile," she said with a sigh, "Not too good, huh?"

            "You'll get better," he said, a slight grimace on his face.

            "Hey! It's not my fault.  As you can see," she said, gesturing to her disheveled and sweaty state, "I was just not made for exercise."  She grinned at him and laid back on the bridge.

            "I see what you mean.  Maybe you should just give up sweets altogether," he suggested, amusement laced in his deep voice.

            "You're joking right?," she said from her horizontal position, not bothering to sit back up and speak to his face.

            "Oh, no," he said, smirking now, "I think it's a good idea.  I could help."

            "Oh really?  And just how would you help?"

            "Well," he began, suddenly leaning over and pinning Rory down between his two arms.  He bent down until his face was looming just over hers.  They were quiet a second, both listening to the rapid beat of each others hearts, before he continued.  "Well," he began again, "For every time I caught you eating sweets, I wouldn't do this for a week."  His voice was barely a whisper as he leaned down and gave Rory a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.

            "Evil," she whispered, grinning.

            "But," he said smirking, "for every day you go without eating sweets, I'd do this."  He paused a second, staring into her blue eyes, now bright with anticipation.  Then he closed the small gap between them and kissed her deeply.  She quickly opened her mouth for him, and he wasted no time taking advantage.  She moved beneath him, and he let himself fall on top of her, trapping her underneath his weight.  She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer still, as his hands suddenly moved to her sides.  She moaned a little, quickly feeling heat spread throughout her limbs.  She felt like she was in heaven.

            But suddenly, Jess pulled back, a troubled look on his face.

            "Jess?" she whispered, confused, "What's the matter?"

            "What, oh, nothing," he muttered, stumbling on his own words.  She had no idea how hard it had been for him to pull back, how much he had just wanted to stay there with her, forever.  But he couldn't.  Not when he still had so many questions.  They really needed to talk about what had happened at the restaurant, before Rory had fainted, but now just wasn't the time.  "It's just that I remembered that Luke wanted me back in the diner.  I'm already probably a little late," he said lamely, although it wasn't a lie.  He really should have been back at the diner 15 minutes ago.

            "Oh okay, I guess I'll see you later?" she said, disappointed.     

            "Sure," he answered.

            Rory closed her eyes, expecting a goodbye kiss, but after several seconds of waiting, she sat up to see that Jess was already gone.

*****

            Rory blinked, staring down at the page in front of her.  She had already read it 10 times, but she still didn't have a clue as to what it said.  She sighed, closing the book.  There was no use in trying to read, she was far to preoccupied.  All she could think about was Jess.  He had acted so weird that afternoon at the bridge.   At first he had seemed fine, but then he had just gotten up and left so suddenly.  What had gotten into him?  Had she done something wrong?  Rory was confused, and worried, to say the least.  She wished she could go talk to her Mother and get some advice, but unfortunately she had left on her date with Luke half and hour ago.

            Rory stood up with a determined expression on her face and left her room, headed for the front door.  There was only one thing to do, and she was going to do it.  Taking a deep breath she quickly opened the door, only to find Jess standing there, with his hand raised, apparently about to knock.

            "Jess!"

            "Rory!" they both said at the same time.

            "What are you doing?" they both said.

            "I wanted to see you," again, at the same time.

            They both laughed.  "I couldn't concentrate on my book so I decided to come find you," Rory explained, not mentioning that he was the reason she couldn't concentrate.

            "Ah, I see, I'm your second choice for the evening."

            "This from the guy who just about knocked on my face."

            Jess smirked, "It's not my fault you have bad timing."

            "Maybe you're the one with bad timing," she said with a playful grin.

            "Maybe," he said, suddenly falling silent.

            "So, uh, did you want to come in?" she asked.

            "I was sort of hoping we could go for a walk.  There's something I wanted to talk about."

            "Oh, okay, sure," slightly worried about what he could possibly want to talk about.  She closed the door and followed him down the steps.  

            The two walked for several minutes in silence before Rory finally said, "So what did you want to talk about?"  Her heart was hammering in her chest.

            "Well we haven't exactly had a chance to talk about what happened at dinner last Saturday.  With Dean and Mandi and all that."  His voice sounded strained.

            "Yeah, you're right," she whispered.  Jess really did deserve an explanation as to what exactly had been her problem.  She hadn't acted like herself that night, plus, she had acted totally jealous of Mandi.  There was no telling what he must think.  After all, she hadn't told him about her conversation with Dean at the hospital.

            "Listen, Rory," he began, running his hand through his hair, "I need to know if you still have feelings for Dean.  If maybe your having second thoughts about breaking up with him.  If you -" he broke off frowning, but shortly continued, "If you want to go back to him, I'll understand."

            The raw pain that Rory saw in Jess's eyes as he said this to her, tore at her heart.  She knew Jess loved her, and the sacrifice that he was making, by offering to let her go, was almost more than she could handle.  She fought to keep the tears out of her eyes.

            "Jess," she whispered, taking his hands into hers, "I don't want to go back to Dean.  Not now, not ever.  I know I acted incredibly jealous last week, but I, well, I think I was dealing with issues that were completely different.  But I'm pretty sure I've got everything worked out now.  You're the only person I want to be with."

            "What about Dean?  It looks like he's not quite ready to give up on you yet," Jess quietly pointed out.

            "I don't think Dean will be bothering us anymore.  We, uh, talked at the hospital on Sunday, before I checked out.  I pretty much told him that it was over for good, and he needed to move on.  I think he finally understands that there's no hope of a future for us.  He'll move on in time, I think.  He says he still loves me, but honestly, I think he just wants to be in love with somebody, anybody.  Eventually he'll realize that he doesn't love me anymore.  In the mean time, I don't he'll give us any more problems."

            Jess smiled and kissed her softly.  When he pulled back he looked into her eyes, suddenly serious again, "You're sure about this Rory?"

            "Very sure."

            Jess finally started breathing again.  He had worried and sulked all afternoon, but he had eventually come to the conclusion that he had to give Rory the opportunity to go back to Dean, if that's what she really wanted.  It would have destroyed him, but he loved her, and he wanted her to be happy. 

            Suddenly his eyes locked onto hers and everything seemed to snap into place.  He felt all the walls around his heart, that he had spent so may years building up, come crashing down in that very instant.  Everything made sense, and he felt like he was the luckiest man in the world.

            "I love you, Rory," he said suddenly, surprising himself.  The words had just slipped out, and he was amazed at how natural and right they had felt.  He wasn't sure if he had ever even said them before.  He suddenly felt free, like his declaration had liberated him.

            Rory stared at Jess in shock.  Had he just said what she thought he said?  Rory felt a flood of happiness rush through her as she finally comprehended the gift he had just given her.  Her eyes filled with tears and she leaned her forehead against his.

            "I love you too, Jess."

            "Really?" he asked, suddenly grinning like a kid in a candy story.

            "Really," she returned with a teary smile.

            The two met in an earth shattering kiss.  Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her as close to him as he could.  The kiss went on and on, filled with passion and heat, but most of all love.  The kiss was filled with all of the love that the two of them had been storing inside for so long.  

            After a while, a long while, Jess broke the kiss, and pulled back just a mere centimeter from Rory's face, "Say it again," he whispered huskily, a little out of breath.

            She smiled, knowing exactly what he meant, "I love you, Jess Mariano."

            "And I love you, Rory Gilmore."

            The two smiled at each other, both more happy and content than they had ever thought possible.

*Grins* Well what did you guys think?  The Epilogue will be up soon, hopefully very soon.  Please Review!


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

            23 year old Rory Gilmore threw open the door to her house and quickly stepped inside, breathing out a sigh of contentment.  She looked around, suddenly feeling nostalgic for all of the wonderful memories this house held.  '_Quit it_,' she told herself, when she felt tears welling up in her eyes,'_You're__ home for a joyous occasion, now start acting joyous!_'

            Rory really was in a good mood.  She was thrilled to finally be home.  She had eventually decided to attend Yale after her graduation at Chilton, and for that reason, she had pretty much been able to live at home during college, or at least visit whenever she felt the urge.  However, after college, Rory had gotten a beginning position at_ The New York Times_, and therefore had had no choice but to move to New York.  The past year had been incredibly difficult for her.  Living all alone in her apartment had been a bigger adjustment than she had expected.  She missed her Mother and Stars Hollow so much.  If Jess hadn't decided to transfer to NYU, and get his own apartment in New York, Rory wasn't sure what she would have done.  '_Wait a minute_,' she thought, '_Where is Jess_?'

            Right on cue the door swung open and hit her in the back, causing her to drop her bags.

            "Hey!" she said, bending down to get her things.  Unfortunately Jess leaned down at the same time.  The two hits heads and both ended up on the floor.

            "Jeez, Rory!  What were you doing standing right in front of the door?"

            "Being sentimental," she said with a huff.  Just as Jess went to get up and give Rory a hand, Lorelai rounded the corner.

            "Yikes!  What happened here?" she said loudly, surprising Rory and Jess.

            "Mom!"  Rory squealed, pulling just a little too hard on Jess' outstretched had.  Jess ended up back on the floor, shooting an exasperated glare at his girlfriend.  Rory just giggled at him and ran over to embrace her Mother.

            "Oh babe, I'm so glad you're here!" Lorelai cried.

            "I know! I missed you so much!"  Rory said, matching her Mother's enthusiasm.

            By the time the two Gilmore girls were done hugging and dancing around, Jess was back in vertical position, holding all of Rory's bags.

            Lorelai smiled at him, and then surprised him by giving him a hug as well.  "How are you doing, Jess?  Still liking NYU?"

            "Yeah, actually.   Everything's going great."

            "Graduation still set for May?"

            "If everything goes according to plan."

            "And it will, trust me," Rory interjected, smiling at Jess.  She was so proud of him.  After highschool, his grades hadn't been the best, and he hadn't really planned on going to college.  Rory talked him into going to community college for a few years, until he could get his grades up, and then transfer to a University.  Jess had worked incredibly hard and surpassed everyone's expectations for him, except for Rory's of course.  She had always known he was capable of great things.  '_And look at him now_,' she thought with a satisfied grin '_NYU . . .  not too bad for someone who barely graduated from highschool.'  _

            Jess laughed, interrupting Rory's thoughts, "I guess it might have taken me a little longer than some people, but I'm getting there and I guess that's all that counts."

            "Well, I always knew you could do it," Lorelai said, earning a snort from both Rory and Jess.  "What?" she asked innocently.

            "Mom, I do believe when you found out that Jess had decided to go to college, you said, and I quote, 'Really, that's great, but sweetie you're confused.  April fool's day is still a month away.'" Rory reminded her Mother, grinning lightly.

            "You still remember that? You need help."

            "Well it might not be word for word verbatim, but I've got the general idea."

            "Alright, alright, so I was wrong.  It was bound to happen some time, let's just not tell anyone about it, okay?"

            "Deal," Rory and Jess said together.

            "Good," Lorelai said.  She grabbed Rory's hand, "Now come on sweetie, there is so much I need to talk to you about.  I think, I'm like a nervous train wreck."

            "Mom it's natural to be nervous-" Rory began.

            "Maybe, but I still don't like it," Lorelai said, pulling her daughter up the steps.

            "Well, I'll just stick this stuff in you're room Ror, and then head over to Luke's," Jess said, although he was pretty sure he was just talking to air.  '_Oh well_,' he thought '_Some things never change._'  And actually, he was pretty glad about that.

*****

            Rory and Lorelai plopped down on Lorelai's bed with a thud.  Rory sat up, crossing her legs, and looked at her Mother.

            "Well?", she asked with an excited giggle, "What did you want to talk about?"

            "I'm getting married," Lorelai said seriously.

            Rory laughed, "Mom, don't you think it's a little late to be telling me, since the wedding is tomorrow?"

             "Don't get smart with me, child!" Lorelai said, suppressing her smile, "I feel like a pack of butterflies have taken up permanent residence in my stomach.  Ahh! I'm soo nervous . . . I've never been married before, you know?"

            "Yes, actually, I do know."

             "Roooory," Lorelai whined, "you're not helping."

            "Okay, okay I'm sorry.  But Mom, you love Luke, and he loves you.  You two were like, meant for each other.  It's natural to be nervous, but there's really nothing to worry about.  You're going to have a very happy marriage," Rory predicted with a grin.

            Lorelai sighed, "I know . . . I am excited."

            "Yeah?" Rory said, her grin growing wider.

            "Of course!  I mean I've dreamed about having the perfect wedding forever!  And now it's finally happening . . . I'm nervous, but honestly I've never been this happy in my entire life."

            "That's great Mom!  I'm so happy for you," Rory said, giving her Mom a hug, "It's like a fairy tale."

            Lorelai laughed, "Not quite.  I don't think Luke would appreciate being compared to Prince Charming."

            Rory smiled, "That doesn't mean you still can't be the beautiful princess."

            "That's right," Lorelai agreed, "But enough about me, I want to talk about you.  How's work going?"

            "It's still going great.  It's like all my dreams are coming true.  Slowly, but it's still really happening.  I just wish it could happen closer to home."

            "Oh sweetie, sometimes we have to make sacrifices to make our dreams come true.  And just because you live in New York now, doesn't mean that you won't always have a home here, because you will."

            "Thanks Mom."

            "No problem kiddo . . . So, how are things going with Jess?  Is he still the one?"

            Rory's eyes immediately lit up.  "He'll always be the one," she said softly.

            "That's what I thought.  So, when are the wedding bells going to be ringing for you?" Lorelai asked with a grin.

            "I don't know," she said with a frown.

            "Have you guys even talked about it?"

            "Well, I guess we've hinted around the subject, but we've never had an actual conversation about getting married."

            "Do you think you're ready?"

            "I'm not sure, I guess I'll know when the timing is right."

            "And when it is . . .?" Lorelai said with a stern expression.

            Rory laughed, "You'll be the first person to know."

            "Good, so . . . "

            "Yeah, so . . ."

            "You want me to try my wedding dress on," Lorelai asked, her eyes bright and excited.

            Rory smiled, "I was just getting ready to ask you to do that."

            Lorelai laughed, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

*****

_The next day . . ._

            "You look so beautiful, Mom," Rory said, her eyes filling with happy tears.  The two were standing just around the side of the inn, where the wedding was being held.  The ceremony was set to start in any minute.

            "Thanks sweetie," Lorelai said, smoothing out her elegant gown, and brushing a curl out her face, "You do, too."

            "Thank you.  Did I mention how much I love these brides maid dresses?"

            Lorelai laughed, "Yes, several times in fact.  But considering the fact that you picked them out, I should certainly hope that you would like them."

            Rory grinned sheepishly, spinning in her pale yellow dress.  The dress had a 

simple cut, but was accented with pretty ribbon and lace in just the right places.  When combined with a crown a fresh flowers, the dresses were perfect.  They were beautiful, and yet simple enough that they didn't take away from the bride's dress.

            Suddenly the music started playing.   Rory glanced up to where the flower girl Molly, Sookie's three year old daughter, and Sookie and Lane, the other two bridesmaids, were already in line.  As maid of honor, Rory would go last, just before her Mom.  

            "Well, this is it sweetie," Lorelai said.

            "I know, I love you Mom."

            "I love you too, Rory."  The two embraced in a teary hug, and then Rory quickly took her place in line.  When it was her turn, she began to slowing walk down the aisle, a soft smile on her face.  She glanced around at all of the packed chairs, filled with happy and excited people.  Practically the entire town had shown up for the ceremony.  Rory wasn't surprised; this was the wedding they had all been waiting for for years.

            Rory felt someone staring at her, and instinctively turned towards the front of the ceremony, where the wedding party was standing.  She locked eyes with the best man, and felt her heart do a familiar flip-flop.  Jess looked incredibly good in his tux, and the way he was staring at her made her face heat up.  She gave him a small secret smile, one she knew only he would notice.  He winked in response.

            Rory reached the end of the aisle and took her place next to Sookie.  Hey eyes traveled to the end the back of the congregation, and felt her heart start hammering with anticipation.  The music changed, and everyone stood up, craning their necks to get a better view of the bride.  Suddenly Lorelai appeared, escorted by Rory's grandfather.  Rory once again felt her eyes tear up with happiness.  She glanced over at Luke, who was staring at his bride.  She returned her gaze to her Mom, who was staring at her groom.  Any worries that she might have had disappeared in that instant.  Luke and her Mother were going to be very happy.  Rory was thrilled; after everything her Mother had gone through in her life, she deserved this. 

*****

            Rory looked around the packed reception room with satisfaction.  Everyone was having an amazing time.  Especially the bride and groom, who hadn't let go of each other since the dancing had started.  Rory's own feet were killing her . . . she decided she had danced one too many dances.  Her eyes searched the crowded room, and stopped by the punch table.  She saw Jess, getting the drink she had requested.  She grinned, and headed for the door.  The noise was getting to her, and she wanted some time alone with Jess.  She slipped out into the cool night air and headed off into the darkness.  She knew Jess would find her.

            Several minutes later, Jess returned to where he had left Rory earlier.  He frowned, glancing around the room.  He quickly decided she wasn't there.  He sighed. He had figured they would eventually bail, but she could have at least waited on him.  He sat the two drinks down on the nearest table and headed out the door.  The minute he was away from the loud gathering, he instinctively relaxed.  Big crowds had never been his thing.  He quickened his pace a bit, anxious to be alone with Rory, and didn't slow until he reached the bridge.  Just as he had expected, Rory was sitting there.  Her hands were stretched out behind her and her feet her dangling over the edge.  Jess was once again struck by how beautiful she was.

            She looked over at him.  "What took you so long?" she asked with a grin.

            He smirked and sat down beside her, leaning over and kissing the side of her neck.  "I could have gotten here faster if you had told me you were going to leave."

            "I knew you'd figure it out."

            Jess smirked, looking satisfied with himself.

            "It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?" Rory asked, a far off twinkle in her eyes.

            "Yeah, it was," Jess said, reminding himself of what he was planning on doing tonight.

            "So, Rory," he said with a grin, "Do you know what today is?"

            "No, Jess, what is today?" Rory said, playing along.  She knew exactly what today was.  It was part of the reason she had been so excited when she had found out her Mom and Luke had set their wedding for this date.

            "Why, Rory," Jess said, feigning shock, "Today is our 5 year anniversary."

            "Ahh, that's right.  I knew I was forgetting something," she said softly, her eyes sparking mischievously.   

            Jess laughed as he reached over and tucked a stray curl behind Rory's ear.  His touch cause her heart to skip a beat, and Rory suddenly grew serious.  "Happy anniversary, Jess," she whispered.

            "Happy anniversary, Rory," he said, a scant second before his mouth covered hers.  Rory eagerly responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, and plunging her hands into his hair.  His hands moved to her waist, pulling her close and lifting her onto his lap.  She leaned into him, deepening the kiss.  Jess lazily explored the inside of mouth, and then pulled back, dropping his mouth to her neck.  She fought the urge to moan out loud as he drove her wild with his hot touch.  Instead she just let out a content sigh, and relaxed in Jess's strong arms.

            The two stayed that way for a while, holding each other and kissing, whispering to each other every so often.  After some time, Rory pulled back slightly, so she could look into Jess's eyes. 

            "You know," she whispered, "I got you something for our anniversary, but it's back at the house."

            Jess smiled, "That's okay.  I, uh, got you something, too."

            Rory smiled and kissed him softly on the mouth.  She pulled back, looking into his eyes expectantly.

            Jess was suddenly feeling nervous.  He felt his stomach tighten and tried to fight his way through the thousands of mixed emotions that were suddenly flowing between his head and his heart.  

            He looked up, and his eyes locked onto Rory's.  "I love you, Jess," she said suddenly.

             He smiled, everything making sense.  Rory loved him, and he loved her.  What they had was real.  The kind of love that would last forever.  He remembered back to the very first time he had told Rory that he loved her, and she had said it back. . . the amazing feelings that those words had evoked in him.  It was still just as amazing now, almost five years later.  Every time Rory told him that she loved him seemed more amazing than the last.  He knew that time and circumstance would never be able to lessen the love that they felt for each other.

            "I love you too, Rory, and I want to ask you something," he said reaching into his pocket.

            "Yes," Rory said, her eyes shining.

            "Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?"

            Rory gasped and looked back and forth between Jess and the ring he was offering her.  She remembered just yesterday, when she had told her Mother that she would know when the timing was right.  Rory smiled and wiped the tears out her eyes; the timing was right now.

            "Yes," she said simply, that one word holding more power and beauty than it ever had before.

            Jess showed no emotion as he removed the ring from the box and slid it on her finger.  He quickly stood up, and pulled Rory to her feet.  He looked down into her eyes, and only then did he let his happiness show.

            Rory started laughing, the clear and joyful sound ringing into the night, and Jess found himself laughing as well.  He grabbed her around the waist and swung her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck.  After a moment, he sat her down.  He kept his hands on her waist, and she kept her arms around his neck.

            "I love you so much," he said softly.

            "I love you, too," she returned with a happy smile.

            He pulled her close, content with holding her for the rest of his life . . .

_The shadows flickered across his handsome face._

_The moonlight danced, illuminating her joyous features._

_The two met in a kiss . . . soulmates forever._

~*~THE END~*~

A/N: Well guys, there ya go.  I really want to thank everyone who reviewed and stuck with this story . . . It meant so much : )  Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think!


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